29 Oct 2024 14:56:59
So, Jota and Elliott confirmed to be out until after the international break in late November.
I understand that someone fell on Jota, and that injured him, but this is becoming a joke now. This isn't the first time someone has landed on him and kept him out for a period of time. I don't know how much longer we can contend with Jota as our striker. His availability is poor, and, despite his obvious talents, there is no point keeping a player that is rarely available.
Hopefully Nunez can make the position his own now, in Jota's absence. When it comes to pressing, covering passing avenues, etc, Nunez is brilliant and works hard. However, offensively he still needs work, especially on his finishing. Hopefully, with a sustained period of game time, he will get the necessary experience to strengthen these parts of his game.
Having said that, though, I do feel we need a proper, number one choice Striker. Rather than a rotational option, which Jota and Nunez are pretty much viewed as. Neither have really made the position there's, due to time and availability, rather than ability.
Gyokeres would be the dream, but I doubt we would have the funds to cover that, plus the number of positions we failed to strengthen at the start of this season. Not to mention the players that may be departing next season that will need to be replaced, with little in the way of a transfer fees coming into the club for those players. Zero, in fact.
Big job for Hughes and, unlike Slot who has impressed me more and more, Hughes has done little to suggest he is capable. Chiesa was one of the few positives of this window, and that is quickly turning into a mistake with the numerous injuries he has already picked up. Fingers crossed this all gets done, and our squad is able to go again, with little in the way of setbacks.
29 Oct 2024 15:35:58
@Mango respectfully, Where did Chiesa pick up all this "numerous" injuries you are talking about, pls?
As for the strikers, the real problem here is that we are not able to offer them consistent service and Slot has already addressed this after the Bologna game. Darwin in the last 2 PL games has only received one piece of service which was the assist to Salah. That is NOT good enuff even if Gyokeres was signed. I propose you worry about that immediate issue than signing some other "Top" striker cos frankly, there's not that many around anymore.
This is where we have to work on and progress, IMO cos regardless of who you get (Gyokeres included) if you cannot offer the right service to them then, nothing consistent will happen in terms production. Just my opinion.
29 Oct 2024 16:17:13
Slot said this concerning Chiesa, which to me sounds like he is picking up small injuries during training, which is far from ideal.
“That’s always difficult to say because he goes a bit up and down: sometimes he’s there with us, training for a few days, and then he goes out with injury again.
And I completely agree with you about the service, that is the first port of call to ensure there is opportunity for the striker to finish. However, I still don't trust Nunez offensively. All his positives are when it comes to tracking back, work rate, heart and passion. I have seen little offensive improvement since joining. He continues to stray offside and looks uncomfortable when one on one with the keeper. Jota, injury prone and becomes far too detached from games for my liking.
When we do create these chances, I want a striker that is cold and clinical. Nunez and Jota are not that for me. Decent rotational options for different phases of a game, but lack the killer instinct I feel we need to progress as a team. I also believe we have the creative individuals in the squad to create something out of very little, Trent as a main example. Szobo, he lacks the necessary technical and creative elements, I would personally prefer Macca in that role, as he has a keen eye for a line breaking pass. Jones, has impressed me in the 6, as has Grav more so. Elliott has the ability to create also. I believe we have the players to create already in the team, I'm just not sure I trust our striker to provide the necessary finish, for one reason and another.
29 Oct 2024 16:20:42
“I understand that someone fell on Jota, and that injured him, but this is becoming a joke now“
Is it really a joke? He got fouled and had a lump of a centre half land on him. It’s not surprising he got injured from that.
It’s not like it was a muscle strain or something? It’s not his fault that somebody landed on him mate
Think you’re being very harsh on jota.
29 Oct 2024 16:47:46
I was really hoping to see Danns push on this season. He returned to running at the beginning of October after his pre-season back injury.
Hopefully he will be back sooner rather than later, as we could do with his 3 goals in 7 game return.
29 Oct 2024 17:07:33
Hopefully slot reads the banter page and sells Jota in January.
Likelihood is though he doesn’t and Jota returns to the match day squad for the season after the international break.
29 Oct 2024 17:08:10
Fair on Chiesa however, you have to understand that the huy has not hasd a ^reseason as he was frozen out at Juve cos Motta wanted him gone ASAP so with that b eing know, he is not just lacking match fitness, he is lacking footie fitness in general so relax and don't judge him too early.
As for your trust or not in Darwin, if he is not getting the correct service consistently then, your trust will never confirmed nor debunked so until that improves, let's wait and see what happens before we judge the guy.
I also fully disagree with the fact that you have "seen little improvement" since he joined. To say he has not improved a lot is just not true at all. The goals and assists numbers alone has gone up from the first to the second season alone. Seriously if you have not seen all the great strides he has made since he joined esp right now doing the things many of his detractors never thought he could do (and even rival fan are bigging him up for) then, I cannot help you.
As for Jota like @Navy said, are you criticizing him for being injured cos someone fell on him? If that is what you are doing and calling it a joke then, your lack of perspective, patience and grace is deafening and at this point, Im done. Peace!
29 Oct 2024 17:40:27
@Oli, the problem with our two choices for the starting CF position is that neither of them are reliable and neither of them really fit into the system they way that Slot wants us to play. As I’ve been saying since the last transfer window our priority, certainly in midfield / attacking terms should be a CF, and should ideally do the job for us that Bobby did - hold the ball and bring the other forwards into play and also lead in terms of pressing from the front, and, of course have an instinct for scoring.
29 Oct 2024 19:40:17
I’ve seen him loads live Mango and Gyokeres is and always has been never good enough for title chasing teams. I’d take Nunez over him any day of the week - not even close.
29 Oct 2024 20:13:33
I see that Cannonier played half a game recently - hopefully his injury woes are over.
29 Oct 2024 20:28:55
WDW, that is not the conversation we were having to begin with. Now to address your actual points you are making, I have not seen anywhere Slot saying or the Ed's saying neither Jota nor Darwin fit in the way he (Slot) wants to play. In fact, we don't need to guess how Slot used his CF cos we can go to Feyenoord to check out Santiago Jimenez who Slot signed from Mexican football and study the way Slot used him to great effect and his goals helped Slot win trophies in Holland.
Now if you have seen Jimenez play consistently under Slot then pls, enlighten me on how he played and how he fit into Slot's system. Now if you haven't and don't know how Jimenez did then, how do you know Darwin (more similar to Jimenez) or Jota don't fit in Slot's system?
And I'll repeat. Regardless of who you get even Haaland, if we don't do a better job of providing good and consistent service to "insert your preferred CF here", it's NOT going to matter. Said CF will struggle and both Jota and Darwin currently are. Get that part fixed and then, we will know a lot more, IMO.
29 Oct 2024 20:53:19
I have not seen anywhere Slot saying or the Ed's saying neither Jota nor Darwin fit in the way he (Slot) wants to play
What bearing would it actually have if the Ed’s were saying it.
29 Oct 2024 21:08:55
Oli, how would the Eds know how Jota or Nunez would fit into the way Slot wants to play?
How much influence does what Slot did at Feyenoord have on what he will do at Liverpool? He might do things differently or want to do things differently because they are different clubs.
And Nunez is in his third season with the club. Are you saying it's because of the service that he's only scored 21 League goals? If it is would you change the team to accommodate Nunez? He wasn't starting regularly at the end of last season and he hasn't been starting this season so Klopp and Slot didn't think so.
29 Oct 2024 22:12:36
Nunez is far from perfect but he clearly is willing to learn - his link up play alone has improved tremendously. he is even passing to someone other than Salah now ;-)
29 Oct 2024 22:44:07
More Darwin bashing I see.
30 Oct 2024 00:07:30
?? @Oli, sometimes conversations develop though.
That said, it wasn’t an attack on you in any way, shape or form. It was me expressing an opinion. Sometimes opinions differ.
However to address one or two of your comments: how likely do you think it is for Slot to say our two primary CFs aren’t fit for the job? From the point of view of the Eds, they too are entitled to their opinion but that doesn’t always make them right.
I’ve seen Jimenez on the box a couple of times but didn’t really take much notice of him (or anybody else in particular) and certainly not in comparison with the quantum idea of how Slot would set up future teams with the players available.
The last point I’d make is, how come Salah keeps scoring? How is it the passes to him seem to reach their destination?
30 Oct 2024 07:47:39
If it's Nunez bashing, then is the lack of service to him the rest of the team bashing?
I was going to make that point about Salah, WDW, if only to see how many of his goals were penalties ?.
It's not Nunez bashing to talk about how many goals he has scored and the fact that Klopp and Slot didn't always pick him, is it?
30 Oct 2024 10:02:28
"neither of them really fit into the system they way that Slot wants us to play"
I can't remember seeing more varied tactics under a manager in such a short space of time. Slot looks for the opposition weaknesses and sets the team up to play in a way to try and exploit them. He wants Liverpool to be able to play every way possible.
And as for Darwin showing no improvement - even the commentators were praising him for his improvement this season. His defending and pressing is second to none for a striker and his link up with Mo is great. His numbers are never going to be like Haaland but that's because he doesn't get the service and he works hard for the team rather than just hanging out around the goal. Haaland is ideal for city but if you put him in our team his numbers wouldn't be nearly as good and we would all be moaning about his lack of effort.
30 Oct 2024 10:07:49
I would add a Diaz to Salah in terms of passes to him resulting in goals.
I love the tacit double standards . If I criticise X for poor play I’m expressing my opinion. If somebody else criticises X, who I think is a good player, then it unfair / unjustified of the player.
30 Oct 2024 13:59:58
WDW, I did not see it as an at.
30 Oct 2024 14:00:21
I like Nunez and it doesn’t bother me if he starts or Jota.
But Darwin gets given far too many excuses. How can someone who missed the most big chances last season be in the same sentence as he doesn’t get service.
His pressing and effort is good but is it 2nd to no one. On Sunday he won 5 of his 15 duals.
99% of the time commentators don’t have a clue what they are talking about but now we are using them as character references for Darwin improving.
I really hope him and Jota score a hatful of goals this season but if it’s believed that it’s the rest of our team that needs to improve over the strikers then it’s clear unconscious bias.
30 Oct 2024 14:09:02
Sorry, I'll try again.
WDW, I did not see it as an attack on me so all good there. I was just trying to clarify or make a distinction btw what was said earlier and what you were saying afterwards. Like I said, all good.
Now regarding Jimenez, I have never seen him play so was asking legitimately if you have so you can enlighten me on how Slot uses his CF's. Regarding the Ed's, I asked that cos there was an occasion where Ed01 had hinted that we may be looking at replacements for Jota and Darwin but it may just have been his opinion so I get that now.
As for your last statement, you can clearly see in games that once we are on the move, our attack almost always goes on the right side where Salah is and we almost look for him at every term which is normal. Even the equalizer vs Arsenal, the pass was for Salah (who would have been offside), not Darwin who was onside. And comparing Salah to Jota and Darwin of finishing is just lame, man. Therefore, we may need to variate the way we attack esp. in transition and get others involved rather than ultra focusing on Salah and get them involved, IMO
At the end of the day, the problem remains that we are not getting the correct service to Jota and Darwin. That much is a fact and we have to do better there. Slot has alluded to it so it's not like I made it up.
30 Oct 2024 16:04:57
I reckon we, like most teams, have more than one problem.
I know it's easy to focus on one thing- especially if you don't like to scapegoat- and last season it was Pep Lijnders and his tactics.
Funnily enough Jota has been scapegoated but now it's of a lack of service to a position where Jota plays.
30 Oct 2024 18:10:05
Are you suggesting double standards @Rigsby? How could you entertain such an idea ?.
31 Oct 2024 08:25:56
Missed big chances is a misleading stat on its own. You know who was second in that list? Haaland.
Anyone want to argue haaland is a bad player because of all the missed big chances (he's up there again this year too)
31 Oct 2024 09:01:07
Nevada the argument was that Nunez doesn't get any service.
The fact that he's missing big chances proves that wrong.
No one ever said he was a bad player for missing big chances.
02 Nov 2024 04:20:38
Can I say that I don’t think Haaland is a good football player? He’s a world class goal hanger - a bit like an XL version of Harry Kane.